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Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

A Day of My Life

So the end of this senior project health blog is coming, and this may be the very last post unless, I pick this up again at some random point in the future. As a result, I wanted to share a day in my life to show a real life example of living an overall healthy (still with room for delicious albeit not perfectly healthy food) lifestyle. One that I hope is easily applicable to your lives. 

Today I went into Boston and was able to take a couple of pics, so I'll use today as an example. This is sort of a closer look at my life, so hello and nice to meet you!

Although today was a Wednesday, I did not have to go to school (because of this project) and thus, today's schedule wouldn't fit for a normal week day activity, but more for a weekend sort of trip.

I woke up at 4 am this morning to send my sister off to the airport, and my dad came along. We breakfasted with a leftover bao zi and a hard boiled egg. I always start my day with a tall glass of hot water with some lemon juice freshly squeezed into it. For those of you who have no idea what a bao zi is, it is a Chinese steamed stuffed bun, similar to the filling you would find in dumplings.

Then, we said our goodbyes to my darling sister and my dad and I went off to go biking at 5:30 in the morning. It was slightly chilly this morning at 47 degrees, but dressed properly we were all set to go! We parked along the beautiful Charles River. (Photos from my iPhone)


The view from Cambridge's side near MIT campus. Isn't it beautiful?


 We got out our bikes, strapped on our helmets, and rode along the river bank and crossed the bridge back into Boston. Luckily, because it was so gosh darn early, there was hardly anyone else around and it was extremely peaceful.

We rode for about two hours with a rest stop at the Boston Commons in the middle where we sat and stifled our yawns. We later headed back to our car to go find a place to eat brunch.

















With the help of Yelp, we found a cute restaurant in Somerville, MA called The Neighborhood Restaurant. The prices were great and the portions were generous as you might be able to tell from the pics. But above all, the food was delicious! I started with cream of wheat, OJ, and some coffee. Then tried a spinach and cheese omelet with some home fries. Needless to say, we left perked up from the coffee and recharged for the rest of the day. I'll use this moment to say that food is extremely important in maintaining your energy so as a result, if you're out and about all day it's fine to be more generous with your normal eating palate. You can make up for it later.

After eating, we left and explored Union Square Plaza so we could walk off some of the food. And along our way, we found this interesting painted wall and so we captured and celebrated our regained energy with a jump for joy!


Along our walk back to the car we found this:


I think it is definitely appropriate. Whenever you can, choose biking or walking over driving! It is not only healthier for the environment, but also great for your own health and fun to do.

On the way back home, I slept for half an hour and am now ready for the rest of the day. So remember, sleep is important too! Later for dinner I'll be eating lots of veggies and a little bit of protein. Then tonight, sleeping a nice good 8 hours of sleep hopefully.

Hope this helped give an example of how life can be lived healthily and can be achieved without any extra fuss. It truly is a fun and a happy lifestyle, so go out there and make the best of your life with proper fitness, nutrition, and equipped scientific knowledge! Cheers!





10 min Workouts and such

http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pinterest-logo.jpg
Personally, I love Pinterest. For those who do not know what Pinterest is, it is a social media networking site where each user is represented by the pictures they love. You "pin" images of your favorite things to boards based on categories that you create and basically, it amasses everything you love in one confined place. Other than the fact that it makes me happy, it is also extremely useful.

http://mixeddigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pinterest111.jpg

Through Pinterest, I have found many helpful tips for living healthily through other user's health boards. Such boards include fitness regimens that are of short time amounts and are extremely useful for when
one is on a tight schedule.

So today, I will show you a couple of these pins to get you started, then you can be off on your way exploring the wonderfulness of new things out there!

http://media-cache-ec3.pinimg.com/736x/7d/a3/77/7da37719938edaf47d6b5746f6e2ecd3.jpg
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b5/c0/27/b5c027b721e6562d8583a0bb2bee6570.jpg
And there are also inspirational ones, motivational ones, helpful ones, and just plain great old advice to be found.
http://media-cache-is0.pinimg.com/736x/93/92/6d/93926dfb2fff8771a5d408dcd2be6f51.jpg

http://media-cache-ak1.pinimg.com/736x/d1/3b/4d/d13b4d1fd1cc38fa485ef4032a9f85b4.jpg
Hope this helps! and you learn to see the brilliance in Pinterest :)

Rest

Rest is one of the most important aspects to consider when undertaking a new exercise regime. It is great to run everyday and have the motivation to keep up with your goals. However, you need to create time for your own body to recuperate. Just as anything, if you use something too long, it eventually gets worn out. That's why it is important for you to learn how to take care of your body.

The frequency of rest days and the type of rest depends on the intensity of your workouts. If you simply walk everyday or have a light run there is no need to take off a day unless you have an injury. If in fact you do have an injury, one day of rest may not suffice. Of course if you do want to take a day off just because, that is always understandable and perfectly respectable.

However in general, if you exercise at a medium to hard intensity level, a day of rest a week is recommended. This is so that your body can heal and recover from soreness, and growing lactic acid in the muscles. On this rest day, if you are not that sore, you can simply go about doing your average everyday lifestyle. However, if you find yourself in need of some sort of exercise, just not demanding on the bones, yoga and stretching can help.

Check out the Yoga for You post to see basic yoga poses to help stretch common muscle groups used in exercise for inspiration. If you are going to stretch, make sure you properly warm up your muscles before stretching deeply. This is explained in the flexibility post.

Another great soother for a rest day is swimming. Swimming is an all around toning exercise for the body that  gives no harsh impact on the bones. Simply doing the backstroke and laying on your back is fine. Enjoy the break from your usual intense workout.

I tend to have medium intensity level workouts, therefore, on my rest days I still exercise, but it is light and fun. Walking, biking, or yoga are my go-tos. In general I prefer having a rest day on Sunday, so that I can start my week off with a nice workout on Monday and follow it through the rest of the week. However, with my busy schedule, it varies. Even though I may not be able to follow it, I definitely recommend having your rest day on Sunday if your schedule allows. Being able to start your week on the right foot makes it so much easier to maintain proper health.

Make sure you take a day of rest! It is for your own wellness.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Cardiometabolic Exercise: Walking

An easy way to get involved with actively moving each day is to enroll in your community centers' exercise classes, schools', YMCAs',or gyms'.These places are great because they give you a community to help keep you motivated. However, if group programs are not your thing, don't fear. Studies have shown that self-directed lifestyle activities are every bit as well as supervised structured exercise programs.

There are many different options to choose from for exercising. In planning your exercise, keep in mind your body type, personal goals, schedule, facilities available, and supports at your disposal.

Walk to Health
One of the special things about walking is that you don't need special skills or special equipment. In all weather you walk, just cover yourself up if its chilly, grab an umbrella if its rainy, and you're good to go!
However, if the weather is hazardous, do not endanger yourself. You can walk around your house, on a treadmill, or around a mall indoors.

http://img2.timeinc.net/health/images/gallery/living/walking-workout-400.jpg
There are a couple of tips for walking:
Try to keep your posture erect with your chin up, eyes forward, shoulders square.
Keep back straight, belly flat, and buttocks tucked in.
Keep arms close to your torso, bent at your elbows.
Land on your heels, and then roll forward to push off with your toes.
Swing your arms with each stride, keeping up a steady rhythmic cadence.

Walk for transportation is great, also taking the stairs instead of the elevators are an excellent addition to your life. You can make walking as intensive or non as you want. Strolling or power walking or somewhere in between is all perfectly fine. However if you do plan on power walking please invest in a proper pair of shoes.

A good pair is one that fits comfortably and is built for walking. The shoes should feel supportive but not constricting. Look for a padded tongue and heel counter. The uppers should be light, breathable, and flexible. The insole, moisture resistant, and the sole, shock absorbent. And the toe box should be roomy even with thick athletic socks.

http://fitblogr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Walking-Shoes-in-Motion.jpg
Another key point is if you are walking outside where cars drive past, wear bring clothing! It is highly important that you do not camouflage into the road so that cars can see you and move around you. It is for your own safety, so help the cars notice you. If you're walking on the road, walk facing the cars, so basically opposite the side you drive.

Enjoy the Weather!

It's now full spring and the temperature outside is creeping upwards. The day is beautiful, getting longer, and becoming more available for going outside. However your life style is, you can fit in a fun workout outside.

Walking, running, biking, skating, scootering, skipping, galloping, etc. are great ways to enjoy the fresh open air. Especially during the weekends, take your family out to a bike trail or grab some friends and go roller blading.

For the weekdays, take time in the mornings to do some cleansing breaths, and get some fresh air by taking a nice morning stroll before heading off to work. This will relax you, prepare you mentally for the day, and awaken your mind.

http://www.active.com/Assets/Running/460/Walking-to-Improve-Running.jpg

If mornings are busy, you can take a easy walk during your lunch break or after dinner. A good half an hour of moving is perfect with the coupling of fresh air.

On the weekends, try to do something new. Make your exercise an event. Maybe call up a couple of friends and play a pick up game of ultimate frisbee, soccer, or basketball. Take your kids out to a park, lake, or beach as the weather runs into summer.

Even though its still in the 60s and 70s please make sure to properly prepare yourself for the sunny weather. Proper hydration and sun protection is important for your own health. Always carry with you a water bottle and sunscreen.

Enjoy the outdoors!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Yoga for You

Yoga is an absolutely amazing thing to practice for two main reasons. These reasons are that they provide a tremendous healing and transformational power as well as a calm confidence. Whether you choose to practice daily or use yoga as a rest day activity, yoga can suit every lifestyles.

Some few tips before you get started:
  • Go barefoot
  • Use a yoga mat to help with traction
  • Warm up before trying to stretch too deep
  • Let your eyes have a soft focus or be closed
  • Move slowly into each pose to avoid injury 
  • Know that discomfort is okay, but pain is not
  • Breathe! Inhale and exhale through the nose. Not through the mouth, unless instructed to do so.
Adhere to these tidbits of advice, and you should be able to experience a very relaxing and enjoyable yoga practice.

So now that you know what to expect, here are some poses to try. Over the weekend, Leigh and I went out to practice some yoga to show that anybody can do it! They are perfect for people of all abilities. Do not worry about trying to bend further than is comfortable. Over time, the longer you practice, the more flexible you will get. In general, hot yoga is wonderful for extending your flexibility.

Child Pose
This pose is a great foundation pose for yoga. Whenever you feel tired and need a break, go into this pose.
Simply kneel with you knees together and place your forehead on the floor. Inch your arms forward and sit your bottom on your heels.



Folded Butterfly
This pose stretches and strengthens the lower back and hip areas. Sit with soles of the feet together in front of you, as close to your body as is comfortable. Hold onto your feet and flap your knees to relax your hips. With your hands on your feet, gently bring your head toward your feet and hold the posture.





Life Nerve Stretch
Sit high on your bottom with your legs stretched out in front of you. Keep your left leg straight in front of you, or slightly to the side. Tuck your right foot into the groin, with the heel as close to the top of your inner thigh as is comfortable. Inhale and stretch your arms up overhead, lengthening your spine. Exhale and bend forward, reaching your hands to your toes or any part of the leg that you can reach to give you a good stretch. As you move forward, bring your chest down to rest on your left thigh.


King/Queen Dancer
This gives a sense of elation and power, and improves your sense of balance. Stand straight with your arms at your sides. Bend your right knee so that your right foot is behind you. Take hold of the inner side of your foot with your right hand. Straighten your elbow. Stretch your left arm up close to your ear. Inhale and lean forward, lengthening the spine. At the same time, lift your bent leg and arm up behind you as high as possible.




Camel Pose
This pose builds strength in the muscle groups of the back. So called because according to yogic teaching, it helps grow control over hunger and thirst, just as a camel would. Sit on your heels with your spine straight and hands on your things. Then, kneel upright, reach back with one hand and grasp the heel on that side, then repeat on the other side. Press the hips and thighs forward to steady the pose and lift the chest up, tilting the head back, but not dropped fully.



Mantra Meditation
In this meditation, start off with one repetition of the mantra on the held inhalation and exhalation. Sit cross legged. Straighten the lower vertebrate, lift the chest, and draw the chin slightly in toward the neck. Rest your hands on your knees lightly. Press your first finger with your thumb. Close your eyes. Pull your navel slightly toward your spine and upward. A common mantra is Har Har Wahe Guru.




Tree Pose
This balancing pose adjusts the vertebrate of the spine and promotes good posture. Stand tall with your feet close together and your arms at your sides. Place one foot inside your opposite thigh, ideally top of the inner thigh. Steady yourself in this pose. When you feel ready, stretch the palms up toward the sky.



Spinal Twist
This gives a lateral stretch to the vertebrate, back muscles, and hips, keeps the spine elastic, and helps to retain side-to-side mobility. Sit with your spine straight. Raise the right knee. Place the right foot flat on the ground. Place the right foot on the ground outside your left thing, your right knee bent over your left leg. Place the right hand on the ground just behind your back. Raise the left arm up. Bring your left arm over to you right knee, and reach around to catch hold of the right ankle if possible.





Triangle
This pose stretches the spine and spinal nerves laterally. Stand with the feet 3-4 ft apart and your arms raised so that they are straight out to the sides at shoulder level. Pivot one foot 90 degrees out and turn other foot in slightly by moving the heel outward. Inhale, lower your right arm, and bring it to rest on your shin. Extend your left arm up from the shoulder with the palm facing forward. Look up toward the extended arm, straight ahead, or down at the foot.


Moon Salutation
Stand upright with feet close together. Inhale slowly and deeply as you raise and stretch both arms above your head. At the same time, arch your upper body backward in one smooth, unbroken line. This stretches and tones the abdominal area, improves digestion, and opens the lungs.



Warrior Balance
Stand with your left leg forward, right foot behind and turned out slightly. Inhale into full warrior pose. Exhale and lift the heel of your right foot up and lean forward with the spine lengthened. Keep your arms up and reach out and up as you shift your weight to your left foot and lift your right foot off the ground. Lift your back leg so that your body forms a straight line from our hands to your toes. Point your toes of the lifted leg.




Downward Facing Dog
This pose rejuvenates your whole body. An inverted pose, it allows for the reversed flow of gravity and increases the flow of blood to the head and heart. Stand up straight, set one leg one in front of the other, place both arms on the floor. Set the foot back with the other foot so that the hands and feet are about 3 ft apart. Your head should be pressed downward, aligning with your arms. Your weight should be evenly distributed between your hands and feet.



Cobra
This pose increases flexibility and rejuvenates the spinal nerves. Lie down on your front with your arms resting at your sides and your chin on the ground. Take a deep breath. Keeping your lower body relaxed, place your hands on the ground under your shoulders to prepare for cobra. Lead with the head and chest and curve your spine up and back into cobra as you inhale.





Friday, April 26, 2013

Mind-Body Exercise: Yoga

Yoga is a great form of exercise for people of all ages and all abilities. There are so many different types, so finding one that suits you the best is possible. Most of the types are branches of Hatha yoga, which focuses on the pose more than the spiritual aspect. All yoga workouts include a blend of strength, flexibility, and body awareness exercises. It requires focus in order to balance as seen in the picture below.

http://crossfitwc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/yoga.jpg

Yoga is not an intensive exercise like the cardio of running. As a result, it burns less calories with the average person burning around 240 calories per hour in a typical yoga class. Therefore, yoga is more for the mental well-being of the person and shouldn't be used to focus on losing weight only. To see significant weight loss success, supplement your yoga with cardiovascular activity and improved eating habits.

You can be as intense of a follower of yoga by leading the yogi life-style or simply practice it on your days of rest to relax your muscles.

http://www.aisquared.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/yoga.jpg
Next week, yoga how-tos will be put up! Until then, Namaste.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Mind-Body Exercise: Stretching

Mind-Body exercise means any exercise that requires a conscious effort to link how you're feeling to what your body is doing. This generally includes stretching, yoga, and meditation. These are different that other exercises because unlike running or swimming, each pose requires you to do it in a thoughtful manner.

The Importance of Stretching:
Stretching is key to maintaining flexibility. Flexibility is required to do simple tasks such as reaching for the light switch or bending down to pick up something. Moving, bending, jumping, and running all require a level of flexibility. Maintaining flexibility is imperative for you to be able to do tasks comfortably.

As you grow older, your tendons shorten and tighten, causing stiffness. This explains for the inability for the elderly to walk as gracefully or with their back as perfectly straight as the younger generations.

Although stretching has been proven to not relieve soreness after a workout or reduce risk of injury, stretching after a workout when your muscles have already been warmed up is the best time to work on your flexibility. Flexibility is key for balance and coordination.

When you stretch, make sure you do not stretch until you are properly warmed up. You do not want to pull a muscle. Usually, after 3 minutes of cardio exercise is enough time for your muscles to be ready to be stretched. For each stretch, hold it for 30 seconds. Any longer is not necessary.

Basically, stretching is not as important for avoiding injury or soreness in the short term. However, in the long term, the increased flexibility will help avoid injury through better balance and coordination gained from it. So stretch!


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Strength Training

Strength Training is extremely vital to your health in addition to cardio exercise. As you age, you lose about one-third of a pound of muscle each year while gaining about a pound of fat starting in  your mid-thirties. Because muscle accounts for a higher metabolism, losing it can cause fat gain. As a result, it is imperative that weight lifting is part of your workout as well.

Strength Training = Preserves muscle mass + strength + metabolism

Ideally, you should work each major muscle group two or three times a week. Less means no result, more means overwork and fatigue. The easiest way to maintain your muscle is to first develop a significant amount of strength from training two or three days a week, then being able to just train once per week.

A good schedule given by Liz Neporent and Suzanne Scholosberg is:

Day 1: Upper Body
Day 2: Lower Body
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Upper Body
Day 5: Lower Body
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Rest

Upper body is working the chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, and abs.
Lower body is working the buttocks, quads, hamstrings, calves, and lower back.
As you can see, in a given week, you are working each group twice. Allowing the other group to rest by alternating days.

It is best to do each rep 15 times during the beginning stage, then upping your weights so that your muscles fatigue within 10 reps. When lifting that amount of weight is no longer a challenge, then increase the amount. Good luck!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Heart Rates and Sweat

The Target Zone is the range of heart rates that is optimal for fitness benefits without risking injury or overexertion. The recommended target zone is of 60 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate.

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This target zone is allows a lot of room to vary the intensity of workout. It is very good with interval training where you alternate between 60% and 90%. Of course, this is simply a target zone, emphasis on target. As a result, if you are new to a level of fitness then exercising around 50% is perfectly acceptable. In addition, if you are training for an athletic event or would like to step up a level, going to 95% is fine as well.

In order to calculate the target zone:
Target Zone = 220 - (Age)
Then calculate 60 percent and 90 percent of this number for the low and high end of target zone.

This estimate is an extremely rough estimate, as it is tailored to suit the average person. However, you're fitness level could be higher or lower than the average person's heart rate. An easier way to measure your target zone is with the RPE scale where it is based on your own qualitative observations for breathing. Look at the table to see where you are:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IvQ435uKseg/SY-PgSuqShI/AAAAAAAAAno/sO6gdhviEY4/s400/RPE+Training+Zones.jpg
In general, it has been found that the fitter you are, the lower your resting heart rate is. Most people's resting heart rates fall between 60 and 90 beats per minute, while fit people tend do be around 40 to 50. However, even olympic athletes have much higher resting heart rates, so it is not an automatic indicator of fitness. This is because it also has a genetic component to it.

The reason why your resting heart rate should decrease with greater training is because your cardiovascular system becomes more efficient, so your heart requires fewer pumps to circulate your blood.

Similar to resting heart rate, there is a correlation between how much you perspire and your level of fitness. In general it is a positive trend, where the fitter person starts perspiring earlier in the workout and more profusely. This is due to the fact that a fit person's body would be able to recognize the buildup of heat sooner, allowing it to work up a sweat to avoid overheating. Since sweating is your body's cooling system, it makes sense. But again, this is not a clear indicator as it is also based on how active a person's sweat glands are which is genetically determined.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercise

You have probably heard the terms aerobic and anaerobic exercise before in your freshman year biology class, learning that aerobic cellular respiration meant the consumption of oxygen and anaerobic the non-consumption of it. In fitness, these terms have the same context. Aerobic exercise requires oxygen intake, whereas anaerobic, not surprisingly, does not.

Now a little bit of cellular respiration review:
Both these two processes require glycolysis, which is the conversion of glucose (stored sugar) into fuel. Aerobic is able to use oxygen to break down the glucose, allowing it to yield greater amounts of ATP (energy). Anerobic on the other hand uses other, less efficient but faster mechanisms. As a result, anaerobic glycolysis cannot be used for more than a few minutes, and is usually only relied on for sprints or such exercises. Therefore, aerobic exercise is the way to go for long term exercise. 
Simply put,
AEROBIC EXERCISE = ENDURANCE

To build endurance, you need to train. We are all born with a certain level of innate endurance capacity. This is called the VO2 max, maximal oxygen consumption. It is the physical fitness indicator of each person where it measures the greatest capacity of oxygen a person can intake and distribute to working muscles. 

You can improve your VO2 max with cardio exercise. Running, biking, swimming, etc. are all great for pushing your lung capacity and working your lungs to be more efficient with bringing oxygen to all parts of your body.

Measuring your VO2 max: *Beware it's a complicated formula*
VO2 max = 100.5 - 0.1636 (Your body weight in kilograms) - 1.438 ( Your mile time) - 0.1928 (your resting heart rate) + 8.344 (1 if you're a man; 0 if you're a woman)

Calculate it, and see where you stand! For comparison purposes, look at this chart:
http://michaelsleen.blogspot.com/2008/12/vo2-max.html




Wednesday, April 17, 2013

What You Should Know

Many things are necessary for the individual to know before embarking on changing their fitness regimen.
Here is just a brief summary of essential things to know in order to have maximum benefits:
  • Drink water!!!
    • Proper hydration BEFORE the actual activity is a must, you should not be drinking water during because of dehydration, only for quenching your thirst
  • STRETCH
    • Warming up and Cooling down especially for intense workouts are a necessity in order for your body to be able to recover and be ready for the next day
  • Eat properly
    • Visit the nutrition and diet section of this blog for proper guidelines to follow
    • Eating enough fruit and vegetables, having enough calcium, and protein is essential
    • Remember: 70% of your body is made in the kitchen, and 30% is made in the gym
      • As a result, it is crucial that you maintain a healthy diet or else all the exercise in the world would not be able to repair the damage
      • Exercise is to tone the muscles, strengthen your heart, and decrease your blood pressure, all of which are extremely important but cannot combat the effects of built up cholesterol, smoke-damaged lungs, and starvation-induced fatigue alone
      • As a result, do your body a favor and treat it well in all respects
  • Understand everything fully before starting. Know your stuff.
    • It is crucial to understand the logistics of every single activity before engaging fully

      • Visit the Scientific Knowledge section for more information, feel free to ask a question if you can't find the answer
  • Start Slowly
  •  
    • When introducing yourself to a new activity, take your time
    • Ease yourself into the new process, allowing your body to adjust to whatever new challenges it is to face
    • Make sure you are doing the proper technique first before increasing intensity
  • Make sure you make it fun
    • If you are not having fun, the likelihood that you will be able to continue this regimen in the future is slim
    • Remember: it takes 21 days to make or break a habit
      • This means you must be able to stick with it for at least 3 weeks, so make sure you ENJOY it
 
Think about how someone trains for a marathon. They don't just up and run the 26.2 miles in one day. It take months of hard, tedious, training and preparation. Treat your goal as a life time marathon.

Fitness for the Individual

The individual nowadays has become more and more busy as the world increases its pace. For the business man or woman, or whatever makes your life busy, there are still many different ways to add in fitness.


If you find yourself with the 9-5 work schedule or long hours of work, find a way to squeeze in some time to get your heart pumping. Even half an hour of exercise a day will help boost mood, increase work speed, and alleviate stress. 

Possible times to fit in a workout:

Morning
  • Great because it gives you a great boost for the rest of the day
Lunch Break
  • Great because it rejuvenates you after a couple of hours of work
  • Gives you a break from the monotony of sitting and allows you to calm down and think
After Work
  • Try to work out before eating dinner so that you do not need to worry about cramps
  • Also, make sure you finish working out 2 hours before bedtime so that the adrenaline rush you create does not interfere with sleep
Easy Fitness Add-ins:
  • Walk or bike to work, take the stairs instead of riding the elevators, park further away so that you can walk more
  • Get up for breaks, stretch, walk to the lobby to get water often
    • Taking breaks to stretch is extremely important in order to rejuvenate your energy levels and increase oxygen intake
    • For your lunch break, take a walk outside if the weather is nice and get some fresh air
  • Stretch while watching TV
    •  during commercial breaks do some crunches, jumping jacks, or high knees
  • Keep perfect posture throughout the day, this alone can help with not only engaging your muscles, but also with improved breathing  and energy level
  • Walk around while brushing your teeth
  • Pace while talking on the phone
Simply try to stay active, not stationary.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Fitness for the Family

Setting an example for being active as parents for the kids is extremely important. Being able to make this into a fun activity for all to enjoy is even better.

Kids are extremely active, and therefore, exercising every day is relatively easy. The recommended amount of exercise for children is 60 minutes a day or more.

Activities:

For the kids who just can't sit still
  • Play tag
  • Run, bike, or swim
  • Go camping and hike
For the kids who have patience to learn
  • Play sports 
  • Throw a ball, Frisbee, play catch
For the quieter kids
  • Go for a walk
  • Jump rope, play hopscotch
  • Take them to the playground

While kids are preoccupied, parents can work out too. If you find yourself at the soccer fields cheering for your kid on the sidelines, take the timeouts and halftimes to walk around a bit and give your legs a stretch. 


No matter what, every day try to find an hour of free time to engage your kids in a fun and active activity. Even just putting the music up loud and boogieing to your kids favorite song is enough. So go and have some fun!

Introduction to Fitness

Day 1:

Hello! Fitness is an extremely important aspect of being healthy. Although proper nutrition and knowledge is important, the human body would not be at its healthiest without movement of the joints, getting the heart to pump blood faster, and toning the muscles.

As a result, this section will be a resource for people of all abilities, ages, and lifestyles to fit in an appropriate and easy to apply fitness regimen for greater health.

 
Feel free to ask any questions or voice your concerns. This blog is to treat every lifestyle and body type. Stay strong!